Last Bike I rode was 30 years ago.

[DwrCymru]

I've been wondering about eBikes for years, now I decided to get one. I've been told it's cheap and nasty but if it does what I expect of it I'm the winner. I'm old, knackered, need help to pedal, I like going out with my camera gear but didn't get far walking, the busses are a waste of time, two hours between, last one back a 5pm. An eBike is the solution to my problems weather permitting.

Started my working life as an apprentice electrician, after two years I quit and got into the Silk Screen printing industry, ended up in Canada in my early 20's came back to the UK in my mid 30's. I have now two Great Grandchildren, with another on the way. Life is good, but you need to get out now and again.

 

[flecc]

I've been wondering about eBikes for years, now I decided to get one. I've been told it's cheap and nasty but if it does what I expect of it I'm the winner. I'm old, knackered, need help to pedal, I like going out with my camera gear but didn't get far walking, the busses are a waste of time, two hours between, last one back a 5pm. An eBike is the solution to my problems weather permitting.

Started my working life as an apprentice electrician, after two years I quit and got into the Silk Screen printing industry, ended up in Canada in my early 20's came back to the UK in my mid 30's. I have now two Great Grandchildren, with another on the way. Life is good, but you need to get out now and again.

Welcome to the forum. If the ebike you are considering buying is new, fine, but if it's second hand make sure the battery is ok since they can be expensive to replace.
.

 

[sjpt]

Probably worth saying a bit more about it here (unless you are already committed and it's bought). You may well get feedback that will save you lots in the end and give you a much better experience as well. There is a big range of 'nasty' that can go with 'cheap', sadly many are just a waste of money.

Even with the good ones expect much less range than quoted; if you are in a hilly part of Wales realistic range could easily be less than 1/3 quoted 'up to' range, even less still if you regularly use high assist modes.

 

[trevor brooker]

I've been wondering about eBikes for years, now I decided to get one. I've been told it's cheap and nasty but if it does what I expect of it I'm the winner. I'm old, knackered, need help to pedal, I like going out with my camera gear but didn't get far walking, the busses are a waste of time, two hours between, last one back a 5pm. An eBike is the solution to my problems weather permitting.

Started my working life as an apprentice electrician, after two years I quit and got into the Silk Screen printing industry, ended up in Canada in my early 20's came back to the UK in my mid 30's. I have now two Great Grandchildren, with another on the way. Life is good, but you need to get out now and again.

my hint is when you get a bike try a very short ride, then repeat as it will take your body some time to adapt. The next day repeat slightly longer so by the end of the week you can ride without problems.

 

[Benjahmin]

My 'cheap and nasty' front hub conversion has got me some 12k miles around the hills of Carmarthenshire for the last 7 years.
The advantage of the cheaper end of e-bikes is that you are not locked into a manufacturers proprietary system where the electrics are concerned. So, with help here, you can source of the shelf parts, should they be needed.
Bikes are bikes, brakes, gears etc can be replaced or upgraded as needed in the garden shed.
May the e-bike grin be plastered across your fizzog for many a country mile.

 

[Nealh]

If one wants cheap riding then hub is the way to go, reliability better then mid drive.
Less wear and tear on the chain drive perfect for light trail and road, that said I use hub drive bike on all off road rides where one often doesn't see another bike or sole.

If the riding is fast, very rough ground and down hill then opt for mid drive.

If one wants a multiplier system then opt for a torque sensor /TS system, one can have TS in hub or mid drive.

Branded mid drive is dealer reliant and non diy serviceable in the most part.
Hub drives are pretty much all diy serviceable and most kits are all diy serviceable

 

[guerney]

What state are your knees in? Cycling made my already dodgy knees hurt much more, but with my Bafang BBS01b, it's possible to set the assistance so high that my knees are not troubled, because I'm not actually making any effort whatsoever. My converted bike is basically a moped which is activated by pretending to pedal AKA ghost pedalling. But that suits me just fine. I don't care about efficiency, because I have a 19.2ah battery.

 

[DwrCymru]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I now have the eBike setup in my hallway, but have now come down with the flu and it's been a couple of nice dry sunny coldish days that would have given me a chance to try it out, ah well, what can you do?

The eBike is an eLife infusion with a 250w front hub, a 24v 7A battery and it has 20" wheels. I got it "Manufacturer Refurbished" according to the advertising blurb but it came with everything except the toolkit, even stuff they said wasn't included because it was refurbished. The only markings I could see on it were on the seat shaft and everything else was wrapped in bubble wrap and still had ties on it keeping it all together. The tyres still have the stringy bits on them, it's never been used and it smells brand new, LOL. All that needed doing to it when I received it was to take all the wrapping off, screw the pedals on (remembering the right and left way they screwed in), raise the handle bar, and adjust the seat height. I charged the battery, tested all the controls and everything seems to be working fine.

It's quite heavy at 23KG but easy enough to fold up to store and it feels very sturdy when un-folded. I got it for £399.00 including free delivery which took 6 days to arrive. I'm quite pleased with it even though I haven't ridden it yet.

The part of Wales I'm in is reasonably flat with a few hilly places but nothing that can't be ridden up or down. The most distance I would probably travel is about 15K each way, oh, and my knees are OK but walking has become sometimes difficult because of various back injuries. I have one good thing going for me though, I'm only 5' 6" tall and weigh less than 9 stone with no excess weight, hehehehe.

Thanks again for all the responses, have a fantastic new year everyone, all the best.

Dave

 

[Nealh]

The ELife is an ideal world tv bike which they often sell, It is likely an ex demo bike.
They are cheap and cheerful so don't expect to much on any steep inclines.
Mechanically and electrically they will be easy to fix/repair in the future.
Battery may get you 25 -30 miles in low speed mode without major inclines.

 

[DwrCymru]

The ELife is an ideal world tv bike which they often sell, It is likely an ex demo bike.
They are cheap and cheerful so don't expect to much on any steep inclines.
Mechanically and electrically they will be easy to fix/repair in the future.
Battery may get you 25 -30 miles in low speed mode without major inclines.

Yeah, I found out a few days after I ordered the bike that they were originally sold by Ideal World. What I did find strange about it is that the Key only unlocks or locks the battery into place and doesn't control power to the bike.

 

[Nealh]

Let us know how it fairs as I don't think we have had much or any feed back on them.

 

[sjpt]

What I did find strange about it is that the Key only unlocks or locks the battery into place and doesn't control power to the bike.

I think that is pretty standard; certainly applies to both our Woosh conversion kit and our Bosch electrics Raleigh Motus.

Enjoy the bike once you are feeling better.

 

[trevor brooker]

Yeah, I found out a few days after I ordered the bike that they were originally sold by Ideal World. What I did find strange about it is that the Key only unlocks or locks the battery into place and doesn't control power to the bike.

Yes when I got my first bike I too thought the key would be like a car key, instead the batteries I have used have an on/off button, with the key purely to lock into its holder.